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Rud takes over at Green Bay

This Tuesday press release from St. Cloud State indicating that assistant coach Eric Rud has taken the position as head coach with Green Bay in the U.S. Hockey League Denver assistant Steve Miller was also said to be a finalist:

The Green Bay Gamblers of the USHL have hired St. Cloud State assistant coach Eric Rud as the teamâ€™s head coach-general manager.Â He will be the teamâ€™s fifth head coach-GM.Â Rud, 37, has spent the past five seasons at St. Cloud State and helped the Huskies to three NCAA tournament appearances, four trips to the WCHA Final Five and 105 victories.

“We hate to lose Eric (Rud) because he has done an outstanding job for us over the past five seasons,” St. Cloud State coach Bob Motzko said.Â “He has become a great friend and was one of our team’s top assets.Â This is a well deserved job opportunity for Eric and a chance to run his own program in a great league.Â We certainly wish him the best at Green Bay.”

“I’m excited to be the head coach for an outstanding organization like the Green Bay Gamblers. The USHL is a great league and I am proud to be a part of it,” said Rud.Â Â â€œGreen Bay is a great family town and that was a big part of it for me,â€ added Rud who has a wife and three children.

Before his tenure as an assistant under Motzko at St. Cloud State, Rud served as an assistant coach at Colorado College during the 2004-05 season. He helped the Tigers win a share of the WCHA title with a 31-9-3, 19-7-2 WCHA record last winter. CC also went on to win its NCAA regional and gained a berth in the 2005 NCAA Frozen Four.Â Before his tenure at Colorado College, Rud was an assistant coach with Cedar Rapids of the USHL from 2002 to 2004. He was responsible for recruiting many members of the Cedar Rapids team that won the 2005 USHL league title.

“The process was difficult because we had an unbelievable pool of candidates applying for this job, but the easy part was saying yes to Eric Rud,â€ said Gamblers President Brendan Bruss.Â â€œHe exemplifies Gamblers Hockey with great character and weâ€™re confident heâ€™ll be an outstanding coach.â€

Originally from Inver Grove Heights, Minn., Rud was voted the WCHA Defensive Player of the Year and earned all-league honors in his final two campaigns at Colorado College. Â He helped lead the Tigers to the Frozen Four as a junior and senior – including an appearance in the NCAA championship game in 1996. As a college player, Rud appeared in 168 consecutive games as the Tigers won WCHA regular season titles in 1994, 1995 and 1996 and posted a 111-43-14 record during that run from 1993-97.

Rud was also a standout player with the USHL’s Des Moines Buccaneers (1991-93) prior to his collegiate playing days. At Des Moines, Rud gained league MVP honors (1992-93) and helped the Buccaneers win a national title (1991-92).

Rud graduated from Colorado College with a bachelor’s degree in psychology. He went on to play professional hockey with the San Antonio Dragons (IHL), Quebec Rafales (IHL), Florida Everblades (ECHL), Kansas City Blades (IHL), Utah Grizzlies (IHL) and the Idaho Steelheads (WCHL).